Boundless Dominion

Providence, Politics, and the Early Canadian Presbyterian Worldview

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A study of the ideas - especially regarding providence, politics, nature, and history - that influenced the early Canadian Presbyterian worldview.

In the twenty-first century, the word Presbyterian is virtually synonymous with “austere” and “parochial.” These associations are by no means historically unfounded, as early Canadian Presbyterians insisted on Sabbath observance and had a penchant for inter- and intra-denominational disagreement. However, many other ideas circulated within this religious community’s collective psyche.

Boundless Dominion delves into the elaborate worldview that galvanized nineteenth-century Canadian Presbyterianism. Denis McKim uncovers a vibrant print culture and Presbyterian support for such initiatives as Indigenous evangelism, temperance advocacy, and anti-slavery activism and finds that many of the denomination’s characteristics contrast sharply with its dour and quarrelsome reputation. Tracing the themes of providence, politics, nature, and history in Presbyterian communities across five provinces, from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick to Lower and Upper Canada, this book reveals that at the heart of this denomination lay a desire to facilitate God’s dominion and to promote Protestant piety across northern North America and beyond.

Through an innovative approach to the study of religious ideas, Boundless Dominion highlights the permeability of borders and the myriad ways in which nineteenth-century Canada - including its Presbyterian community - shaped and was shaped by interactions with the wider world.

“By looking at the intellectual ideas of the colonial Presbyterianism tradition, Boundless Dominion breaks out of a strictly denominational framework and asks much more interesting questions. This very stimulating book makes a significant contribution to the field.” Robynne Rogers Healey, Trinity Western University“McKim locates this work at the intersecting points of intellectual, British, environmental, and Canadian religious history, complicating ideas of Presbyterianism and providing a new and welcome interpretation of the denomination in early British North America.” Stuart Macdonald, Knox College, University of Toronto